A consortium of nine museums has paid nearly £1.7m to buy 11 items from the Cassel collection - seen as one of the best private holdings of gold and silver artefacts in the UK.
The arrangement is unique in that each member of the consortium owns an individual item rather than having a share of an object as would be the case in a joint purchase.
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the Victoria and Albert Museum put together the consortium when it became clear that no single institution could afford to buy the whole collection.
The acquisition, which was completed in mid-July, was supported by a £850,000 grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and £404,000 from the National Art Collections Fund.
Other consortium members include the British Museum; the Geffrye Museum, London; the Museum of London; National Museums and Galleries, Wales; Temple Newsam House, Leeds; Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery; and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
The Cassel collection was assembled by Ernest Cassel, who arrived in Liverpool from Germany in 1869 with just a violin and a bag of clothes. He became one of the most successful financiers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The arrangement is unique in that each member of the consortium owns an individual item rather than having a share of an object as would be the case in a joint purchase.
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the Victoria and Albert Museum put together the consortium when it became clear that no single institution could afford to buy the whole collection.
The acquisition, which was completed in mid-July, was supported by a £850,000 grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and £404,000 from the National Art Collections Fund.
Other consortium members include the British Museum; the Geffrye Museum, London; the Museum of London; National Museums and Galleries, Wales; Temple Newsam House, Leeds; Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery; and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
The Cassel collection was assembled by Ernest Cassel, who arrived in Liverpool from Germany in 1869 with just a violin and a bag of clothes. He became one of the most successful financiers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
